To wish Martina Cole was right in front of me...

[PopGoesTheFuckingWeasel]

So I could ask "What the actual fuck?"?

I was SO into her books at the beginning. I don't do chick-lit etc, but she was different.

Am I the only one thinking that the past few books are gnat-shite?

Does she just change the name of characters, change some of the time events around, and churn out a new book?

And the next time I read the line "belly full of arms and legs", I will boil my own head and eat it!

Aaaargh!!

(Ps, the book has gone to the charity shop)

Has she taken some sort of "writer's laxative" which makes her churn out this shite?

Haha! Yes!
And 'punishments' are always 'dished out swiftly and efficiently'

EZA I saw some new Sidney Sheldon books but it turns out they are written by Tilly Bagshaw using his name. Some are sequels to his books. Apparently they are written in the style of Sheldon.

I read some of her earlier books years ago. Got fed up after about 4. Now I can't read any of them.

My mam loves them though. My sisters buy her the new releases as they come out as I refuse to pay for that shite. Mam is dischuffed that I don't like them anymore and always gives me the plot as she reads them. I sit there nodding and smiling while thinking about the minutes of my life I won't get back. She always offers to lend them me too. I always decline. It's our 'thing' apparently.

I loved The Other Side Of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon when I was about 13. I read it so many times it fell apart. It featured in The Night Of. It was a prisoner's favourite book - bit of an odd reference. Maybe the writer loved it.

Never been tempted by Martina Cole. I tried watching a TV adaptation with Tom Hardy and it was shite.

perfectly how is that even ok?!! He's still alive isn't he? Why can he not write his own sequels?!

Def agree have read all the books apart from last one and yes same plots and characters I'm sure same name in some def gone downhill compared to earlier ones

EZA, Sidney Sheldon died 10 years ago!

Haha - shows how much I know! craftyfox I stand corrected!!

I will second that Kimberley Chambers is much better. Like Martina in the early days. And Jessie Keane is quite good too

I've never read anything by Kimberly Chambers. Thanks for the recommendation!

Yy to "samey" but I wouldn't even mind that if the stories were actually good! I'm a secret Jackie Collins fan, too, and some of her stuff is "samey".

Glad I'm not the only one. What pissed me off the most is that the tenner I spent on the crap that inspired this thread could have been spent on yarn for Woolly Hugs! 😁

Casey Kelleher, Manda Sue Heller, Roberta Kray and Jessie Keane are similar types of books.

YANBU! I used to be waiting for her next book to come out, absolutely loved her but you're right, she's just regurgitating the same story lines now, haven't read her books in years now.

Oh

YANBU and I haaaate the bloody tired old samey lines! I bought her books regularly for a few years in my late teens early twenties, but one of them I bought at an airport and came to the conclusion that they were all the same books - and a bit crap at that! About as badly written as 50 shades etc

I read quite a few of her books years ago (cheap from The Book People).
The story lines were actually quite good but the writing/editing was poor.
The same phrases used over and over again, so many anachronisms and factual errors, I never wanted to read another one again.
They sell well in my local charity shop though.

I actually got into her because there was a three-book pack on offer in Tesco. The three books were "Goodnight Lady", "Broken", and "The Know". They were all totally different, and I was sucked in from there.

Don't even get mw started on "Maura's Game".

yanbu i loved the first 5 or 6 but the rest are the same dirge poor man does good by becoming a gangster starts off with decent ish principles turns into a violent twat destryoing his wife and kids lives in the process the beautiful wife usually becomes an alcoholic.

You can play Martina Cole bingo, bit like MN bingo but stereotypical Cockney slang instead

'He was a Face'

'Belly full of arms and legs'

'Skulduggery'

'a bit lively'

'Sharpish'

'gave her/him a right hammering'

'mad as a box of frogs'

'latest squeeze/bit of fanny'

'took an occasional flier'

Goldenhandshake I'll add...

Bit of strange
Gave him hag

😁

Pop thank you for enriching the Bingo, can't believe I missed them, I'm a 'dozy mare' (which should be in there)

They are pretty shit. My 80 year MIL loves them - gives me a bit of a laugh imagining her devouring all the 'fucks' and 'cunts' and 'nonces'. Pp mentioned the Tom Hardy adaptation - which book was that again? I remember thinking the programme was far better than the book because of Tom.

they are always big irish catholic families who give birth to strapping sons that give lustful crys at birth they usually have about six sons and one girl who they all put on a pedestal [who generally betrays the oldest son head of the family in some way]and attend church every sunday despite murdering people for fun.

I read them purely for their crapness and to see just how many times she can use the same phrases, storylines, characterisation, etc.

There was one I thought was pretty good. Two Women maybe?

alltouchedout was that the one set in the prison?